The Pitcher Just Hits Home Runs Well [EN]: Chapter 268

268. The Legend of a Bygone Era? (4)

The agreement Domingo Rodriguez and I made was, ‘No holding back, just inside the zone.’ But was it the pride of an ace speaking? He initially threw what he had suggested: ‘An easy pitch to hit.’

Ah, of course, that was still ‘an easy pitch to hit’ at Domingo Rodriguez’s level. Even if it’s a fastball coming inside the zone, plenty of hitters couldn’t properly attack a fastball from a left-handed ace throwing up to 99 mph.

But after getting hammered like that for three consecutive pitches, especially with the last one going over the fence, it was clear he would choose to throw ‘inside the zone without holding back,’ surpassing the ‘easy pitch to hit’ he had talked about.

Even in live batting practice, being unilaterally beaten like this wouldn’t sit well with the pride of an ‘ace.’

So, the fourth pitch would likely be a breaking ball.

Domingo Rodriguez throws a total of six breaking balls: three types of curves, a slider, a cutter, and a circle changeup as his finisher.

‘He won’t throw his finisher, the changeup.’

Considering Domingo Rodriguez threw only fastballs three times in a row, the probability is high. Then what’s left is the curve, slider, and cutter. In the case of the curve, you can usually grasp it to some extent just by looking at the movement the moment it leaves the hand. Of course, since that guy’s deception is so great, I can’t be completely sure, but the biggest advantage of the three types of curves he throws is that you can’t know how much the ball will drop. In that sense, like the fastball, the curve is manageable enough if it comes into the zone.

What’s left is the cutter and slider.

Honestly, from a pitcher’s perspective, they might differentiate the pitches, but from a hitter’s perspective, there’s only a slight difference in speed and trajectory; either way, it’s a ball that curves inward towards the body.

Fourth.

As before, a subtle difference in timing, about half a breath. And with a bizarre motion where a few frames seemed to be missing in the middle, his left hand suddenly popped out from behind his head.

Fast.

Among his three curves, there was one fast enough to be called a power curve, but I intuitively felt that this ball was definitely not it. And in these cases, my intuition is usually right.

Cutter. Or slider.

Since I had ruled out the changeup, the timing to swing the bat was roughly right. The course was exquisite. Slightly inside from the middle. If it came in any further, it would be a tricky ball that barely caught the borderline.

Tightened my right armpit even more. And then, swing!

-Whoosh!!

My bat swung splendidly in vain.

‘Wow… crazy.’

Domingo Rodriguez on the mound smiled.

Right.

That guy is a starting pitcher. The craziest guys in this business. Even among the craziest guys who have won the Cy Young [award given to the best pitchers in each league], he’s top-tier crazy. So, he can throw another fastball right down the middle at this timing.

I wasted my time thinking about cutters and sliders and ended up swinging at nothing.

“Service ends here. Now, I’m really just throwing inside the zone without holding back.”

The guy on the mound shouted at me.

No, honestly, that wasn’t for me to hear, but for the kids watching over there.

‘See? I told you. Domingo is holding back right now.’

‘Holding back my ass? Anyone can see he’s gritting his teeth and throwing, and now he’s talking trash because he got hit with a home run.’

‘He threw four consecutive fastballs inside the zone; if that’s not holding back, then what is?’

‘Knowing Domingo’s personality, if he really held back, he wouldn’t have said something like that, right? He was serious in his own way, but he got hammered and got pissed, so he’s saving face by saying he held back after throwing one.’

I never used to understand the mindset of those starting pitchers. I just thought of it as them being sensitive around the time of their period every five days, like women being sensitive before and after their period once a month. But after pitching as a starter myself, I understood. People can’t help but become like that. Moreover, being constantly exposed to that environment changes your personality a bit.

Anyway, he saved some face with one fastball, so now it’s for real.

Curve, slider, and cutter.

Fifth.

-Whoosh!!

An unexpected circle changeup drew my bat out.

Swing and a miss.

Ah, but wait a minute.

“Domingo?”

“Ah, sorry, sorry. I meant to put it inside the zone, but it went slightly off. Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.”

Is this guy serious?

A circle changeup that goes from inside the zone to outside.

Yeah, it was indeed worthy of being called ace Domingo Rodriguez’s finisher.

I didn’t have the ability to distinguish the speed change of the ball like that ‘damn Tony Gwynn’ [Hall of Fame hitter known for his incredible bat control]. To be honest, I don’t even believe Tony Gwynn had that ability. It’s not an ability a person can have.

But even so, I was one of the hitters who hit changeups relatively well. There was no special secret. It’s just that my eyes and bat control were better than others. But even with my eyes and bat control, that ball just now was difficult.

‘No. If I had been mindful of the changeup too….’

Anyway, the live batting practice continued after that.

One fastball coming into the zone and one changeup going out. Whether it was because his pride was somewhat satisfied with that, the live batting practice was relatively normal afterward.

Yeah, until I sent the 14th ball over the fence again.

It was a cutter that dug deep inside.

It was quite close, but things aligned in various ways. To be honest, it was a bit unexpected that it went over the fence. Back in my prime when I weighed 120kg, this would have naturally gone over the fence, but that’s not the case now.

‘Still, gaining 10kg seems to have some effect.’

The weight gain this winter was purely for pitching, but it seemed to have added a bit of power to my hitting as well.

“Interesting.”

And Domingo’s eyes went crazy again with that home run.

The last 15th pitch out of the promised 15.

Circle changeup.

It was a feeling of take-it-or-leave-it, but I matched my body’s timing to the circle changeup anyway. Because throwing the ball you’re most confident in at a crucial moment is an unavoidable choice if you’re a true ‘starting pitcher.’

The deception that still doesn’t get adapted to even after seeing it 14 times in a row.

The ball flew from his hand.

The bat moved.

Timing?

Good.

Perfectly aligned.

My gaze followed the ball.

The trajectory from the pitcher’s hand to the midpoint.

And following that trajectory, my head empirically calculated the trajectory the ball would pass through.

-Clang!!!

My bat hit the ball that was slightly trying to escape out of the zone.

A high fly ball.

A huge sense of bewilderment settled on Domingo’s face. The batted ball stretched out.

‘Tsk….’

But the feel wasn’t good.

A numb palm.

It was because Domingo’s circle changeup had curved slightly ‘less’ than I had predicted.

About five steps away from the warning track [area before the outfield fence] on the right field fence.

The ball fell.

‘That’s a flyout.’

‘Hey, that’s a hit. How many outfielders can catch that?’

‘I would definitely catch it.’

‘You’re kidding. Did you not see the speed of the batted ball just now? With your slow feet, you would have arrived long after the ball fell.’

‘That’s the story when I’m in the normal position. But if the front office is in their right mind, they wouldn’t make someone play deep against a hitter like that, right?’

‘Ah, is that so?’

15 live batting practice pitches.

3 strikes, 1 infield pop fly, and 3 ground balls. And 8 batted balls flew to the outfield, with 2 of them going over the fence.

Considering the condition of ‘inside the zone without holding back,’ it was a highly unsatisfactory result.

***

I couldn’t remember what I said or how I said it on the mound.

I probably blurted out something pathetic like, ‘Haha, as expected, you’re going to set a new home run record. It’s hard to deal with you doing this casually when your body isn’t even warmed up properly yet.’ But thinking about it now, that makes me look even worse.

I should have just said nothing and given him a thumbs up before turning around….

I resisted the urge to throw what I was holding in my hand out of surging annoyance.

Making a big noise here would only make me look even worse.

“Damn it….”

Everything else aside.

Well, I guess it can happen since we agreed to throw everything inside the zone. But the last one, the changeup, was different. Moreover, that ball wasn’t even thrown with the intention of putting it inside the zone as we had initially agreed. Of course, it ended up slightly catching the zone, but Domingo Rodriguez himself knew that wasn’t the case when he threw the ball. Maybe Choi Su-won, who hit that ball that far, knew that as well.

A complete defeat.

Live batting practice wasn’t a competition in the first place, but that’s the only way I could describe it.

I washed my face with cold water from the sink. The heat that had rushed to my face seemed to subside a bit.

“What? Were you serious?”

Domingo Rodriguez was startled and turned his head at the voice behind him.

It was Gerrit Cole.

Why did it have to be this guy here?

“Why are you so startled? How many people use this bathroom in the team, including you and me?”

“Anyone would be surprised if they suddenly heard a voice without any sign of someone being there. More than that, what do you mean by serious? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I just thought you were casually throwing since the batted balls were flying over the fence, but looking at your expression, it seems that’s not the case. Well, never mind if that’s not it.”

“Think what you want. If you’re really curious, why don’t you set him up and do some live pitching? With the condition that I throw everything inside the zone like me.”

“Well…. Baseball isn’t a game where you win just by throwing fastballs, so why bother?”

Gerrit Cole smiled slyly and handed over a handkerchief.

“I’m fine.”

“Using a paper towel will damage your skin.”

Domingo Rodriguez ignored his words and stormed out of the bathroom.

Gerrit Cole, who remained behind, wiped his hands with a pleasant expression.

‘Choi Su-won….’

A cocky rookie who had rejected his offer a while ago. Of course, he didn’t like the guy. But he had given a proper blow to someone even more annoying, so he should forgive him now.

Exhibition game.

Domingo Rodriguez perfectly proved his skills by striking out a whopping 7 batters in 3 innings. And Su-won, who came up after him, similarly held the opponent’s lineup scoreless with 3 strikeouts and 1 hit in 2 innings.

The exhibition game was still in full swing.

Su-won, who had finished his appearance, washed up and headed straight to the locker room.

“Yo, Super Rookie. Are you already trying to leave work?”

“Cole-ssi?”

“Even if it’s okay to leave work after your appearance, you’re still in your first year, so wouldn’t it be better to stay and cheer each other on?”

“Well, that’s not really my taste.”

Gerrit Cole felt the forgiveness and reconciliation he had felt just two hours ago completely disappear at the sight of him cutting off his advice so sharply.

“Live batting practice.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll do it for you once too. I heard you’re going to be in the lineup as a hitter the day after tomorrow? Your senses must have dulled a lot, so you should have a serious match instead of doing it casually with conditions like today. Don’t you think?”

In the end, this kid’s high nose is due to his confidence in his skills.

And those skills are ‘hitting.’

Today, that idiot Domingo raised this guy’s nose even higher with his strange antics, but Gerrit Cole was certain. If he’s a guy who hasn’t even debuted in the majors yet, there’s no way he can attack a proper breaking ball from a major league ace-level pitcher. And that’s not a matter of ‘talent.’ It’s a matter of ‘experience.’

No matter how much talent he has to dominate the majors in the future, he can definitely crush his nose ‘now.’ Moreover, he’s only 20 years old now. He showed that much against Domingo today, so there’s no reason to refuse.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Okay, then tomorrow…. No, wait a minute. What did you say?”

“I said I don’t think so. The exhibition game itself is practice to get those senses up, so there’s no reason to practice again for practice. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll decline.”

It was the moment Gerrit Cole got rejected by Choi Su-won twice in a row in the locker room.